Who is self-employed?

[riverwed070707]

What do self-employed families do for health insurance? I tried googlign and felt like there was a ton of spam. If I won't have any employees, etc, are the options really terrible? A bit of future planning here, but I'm the sole income and I was thinking through the feasibility of making my side business a full time gig. Curious how we will manage health expenses, retirement contributions and the like. Kind of frustrating how its not so much the pay at my FT job as it is the benefits that make it feel a bit like a trap.

[MonkeyMama]

Two things:

You just need to buy private insurance, is all. We've personally never chosen employer insurance because the private insurance was cheaper (& WAY better). So, you need to shop around and see what your options are, before assuming anything. Who knows, you may be able to find better/cheaper insurance on your own. You can talk to an insurance broker if you are feeling overwhelmed. You should be able to get just get quotes online (look up some insurers in your region, starting with the one you already have). If you are all in good health, that is it.

My advice above is kind of moot. Starting October 1, you can buy private health insurance through a State insurance exchange (Obamacare). There are significant tax rebates, based on your income. Really your best bet is to wait until your state insurance exchange has quotes and rates, and start from there. My impression, so far, is that this will significantly help people who have pre-existing conditions and/or lower income households. I am not expecting to find a better deal with the insurance exchange, personally. So those are an "it depends" and I would still check the private market for options.

[JustBill]

If you use duckduckgo for your web searches, I think you will see results that are more concise and less fraught with sponsored "spam" as you put it.

You may want to evaluate joining a local chapter of an organization such as a homebuilders association to utilize their group insurance options. Your business doesn't have to be related to, in this case, homebuilding to become a member. Of course any business contacts may prove useful.

[sherylgray]

Choose the right insurance plan which is often proves challenging because there are many available options in the industry for self-employed. You will find few programs that are customized to cater to the needs as well as the budget of self-employed people.

[shaggy]

What do self-employed families do for health insurance? I tried googlign and felt like there was a ton of spam. If I won't have any employees, etc, are the options really terrible? A bit of future planning here, but I'm the sole income and I was thinking through the feasibility of making my side business a full time gig. Curious how we will manage health expenses, retirement contributions and the like. Kind of frustrating how its not so much the pay at my FT job as it is the benefits that make it feel a bit like a trap.

I'd strongly recommend you go to a health insurance broker who is familiar with the plans in your state.

I went self-employed in 2004 and used a broker, who told me a lot of things I wasn't able to find out on my own (e.g. if I paid for COBRA, I had more options than if I didn't). things vary widely by state and you need someone who knows the ins and outs of your particular area. Also the broker pointed me to plans that met my specific needs, which were different than others (it's vital for my family to have more than "major medical" coverage).

Things will change as the new exchanges come online, so you might want to hold off until January when agents start to see how the exchanges are playing out in their particular states.